Ranked by evidence
Best supplements for fertility
Very few supplements improve the odds of conceiving, and the best-supported one protects the pregnancy rather than helping it start: folic acid, taken before conception. Everything below is ranked by how strong the evidence is for this goal, not by how popular the product is. Items that only work in a particular situation or population are labelled that way.
Picks are ranked by the strength of published evidence for this goal in otherwise healthy adults. A persistent symptom needs a clinician's evaluation, and no supplement on this list replaces treatment.
Evidence last reviewed: September 2026
Top picks
| Option | Evidence | Best for | The honest note | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Folic Acid (Vitamin B9) | Strong evidence | anyone who could become pregnant | Periconceptional folic acid cuts neural tube defects by about 70%, and 400–800 mcg a day should start at least one month before conception. The evidence is about protecting the pregnancy, not about conceiving faster. | View |
| Prenatal Multivitamin | Strong evidence | folic acid plus iodine and iron | Started before conception, it covers folic acid from the first weeks, when the neural tube closes. Check the label for iodine, which many products omit, and for vitamin A supplied mostly as beta carotene. | View |
| Women's Multivitamin | Moderate evidence | if you already take one | A women's formula with 400 micrograms of folic acid covers the key nutrient before pregnancy. Its iron only helps if you are actually iron deficient. | View |
Situational
| Option | Evidence | Best for | The honest note | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inositol (Myo-Inositol) | Moderate evidence | women with PCOS | In PCOS, myo-inositol raised ovulation and clinical pregnancy rates in pooled trials, with fewer gut side effects than metformin, though live-birth data are sparse. Trials mostly used 2 g twice daily for 12–24 weeks. | View |
Popular for this goal — but the evidence says skip
- Fertility Blends Limited evidence
Cochrane reviews rate the evidence low to very low for both men and women, and the male live-birth signal disappeared once high-risk-of-bias trials were removed.
- Maca Root Limited evidence
A meta-analysis of five trials found no effect on sperm concentration, and the sexual-function trials are too small to conclude anything.
- DHEA Moderate evidence
The pregnancy signal in diminished ovarian reserve came from observational data and vanished in the randomised trials, and it is banned in sport.
- D-Chiro-Inositol Limited evidence
The early ovulation result in PCOS was not reproduced, and small studies link doses of 600 mg a day or more to worse egg and embryo quality in IVF.
- Vitex (Chasteberry) Moderate evidence
Fertility claims rest on small trials of multi-herb formulas, and it should be stopped during IVF or other hormonal fertility treatment unless a clinician approves.
- D-Aspartic Acid Limited evidence
Semen improvements come only from combination products, so its own effect cannot be isolated, and 6 g a day lowered testosterone in one trial.
Our verdict
If you could become pregnant, start folic acid, alone or in a prenatal, at least a month before trying, and if you have PCOS, myo-inositol is worth discussing with your doctor. Skip fertility blends, maca, DHEA and D-aspartic acid: none has reliable evidence for pregnancy or live birth.